A puzzling affair

Hmmm - about the manual shifting in the car. I'm not so sure it's "manual" shifting because you have to change from reverse to drive or park. I am not accustomed to driving a North American car, and I find it awkward. I'm always trying to remember how to get into reverse and then into drive. With most automatic vehicles, you simply turn a knob or shift the gear stick to shift into each gear. With this one, getting into each gear requires a DIFFERENT move of the stick. I'm definitely not a fan. But no worries -- only one more day and then the car goes back to the rental! 

I have heard of automatics that have a paddle to emulate driving a manual, allowing you to shift between 1st and 2nd, and so on. And some people love it - well, if this is similar, it's ridiculous and I hate it! Thank goodness for Japanese cars! 

As for the quilt edge, I didn't accomplish too much yesterday, but that's OK. I know what I'm doing, and I'm happy to take it home and continue to work on it. I'm sure I'll get reminders from everyone about my progress. As mentioned, it's a great project to work on during a Zoom call. I seemed to be all fingers yesterday, and then I was away visiting someone in the afternoon. But all is good - I have a plan and I'm good with plans. 

I went back to the cemetery yesterday --- two days in a row, and I'll probably go back later today. I wanted to get some pictures of some gravestones. And when I arrived and finally found my grandparents' grave, I pulled some weeds and removed some dead grass to make it look a bit better. Despite the "issues" with my brother and SIL, the SIL always ensures there are flowers (fake) on the grave each year. And my grandfather loved gladiolias and grew them like weeds, and that is what she put. She can't be all bad!!!

OH -- I didn't send the picture, but that's OK. 

Back to the apartment, where my Mom had plans for us to finish sorting through the stuff in the closet. She sorted all the containers, and we have the keep and the giveaway piles. All of the items you see here are for the giveaway pile, but how do you get rid of them? It's back in the closet until I can come up with a plan. FYI -- neither she nor my Dad can get in the closet, and they can't lift the boxes, so that's why she waits until I'm there. This is why it's essential to do this sorting WHEN YOU ARE PHYSICALLY ABLE!!!!! DO NOT WAIT!

Giveaway stuff

So we need to put our thinking caps on. How can one find a home for a bunch of scrapbooking stamps? Most of them are brand new, and they are all amazing sets. By that, I mean there is a diverse group - some are texture stamps for backgrounds, while others feature cute sets for cards or scrapbook pages. But how the heck does one get rid of them? I tried posting on a scrapbooking/buy and sell page - actually posted it on quite a few sites - and no bites. It was funny because someone messaged me to say, 'Did I know that I had a listing in Saskatchewan?' Yes!!!!

I'm trying to persuade my Mom that it's not going to be easy to sell these. Perhaps we could give them away. I have no idea why she's reluctant to give them away when the amount of time and effort required is going to be horrific. I'm working on changing her mindset, though. Her philosophy is, "let's wait and see." And it's all easy when she doesn't have to do any of the legwork. 

So, my question to you is: Does anyone know of organizations or places that would be willing to take this type of stamp? There are ink pads and paper as well, so they would be getting a complete package. And I'll persuade that giving them away is good. 

While she is willing to get rid of those stamps, and yes, I remind you of the same thing for myself, you are not allowed to judge what she did, nor lament the money that was spent. It's in the past - let's move on! BUT also in that closet are SIX empty pizza boxes and god forbid if I were to remove them. There's an old brief case and I've tried to get it out of the house, but nope - I was "forced" to put it back. 

I know -you're thinking that it should be easy. And you know what? I could literally just take it outside the apartment and she wouldn't be able to retrieve ti. But we are making breakthroughs at her pace, and I'm not rocking the boat. That would be counterproductive, and I'd probably be told not to come back, and that's just not worth it. I'll deal with those things later, and who knows - I might be able to pry it out of her hands at some point. 

There was a box of empty fish cans in that closet. My heart sank when I saw that. 

A box of empty fish cans

They had been saved to make some project - I think people were making these hanging mobiles out of them. Thankfully, the cans, the bag, and the empty box are all in the recycling bin, with her blessing. 

Yep - that's what was in the box

Funny enough, there is a Pony Express area at their front door - just like me. I did my best to eliminate what I could. I spotted three puzzles in a bag and they were simply to go downstairs as there are a couple of people in the building who work on puzzles every day. These are older, but it's still a puzzle. 

Older jigsaw puzzles

I'm not sure how these got back to them. There's a whole story about puzzles, my Mom, my brother, and I'm not going there. It got ugly, and there is no forgiveness or forgetting in my family. She said these were downstairs, and then somehow they came back up, so I'm not sure about that part of the story. These are NOT the same puzzles that caused the ruckus -- these have my Dad's name on them. They're back down in the common room, and I need to remind the guys that when they're done with the puzzles, they need to move on. Do not take them back up. 

I remember putting this one together as a kid! I just Googled this puzzle, and someone is trying to sell it on eBay for $100 US. It's from the 40s. Do I want to keep this one? I might steal it back. There's a quilt on that bed! 

Norman Rockwell jigsaw puzzle

Speaking of the puzzle-making at the apartment, one of the fellows has a fantastic board for working on puzzles. Four trays slide into the base, and that large part is big enough for a 1000-piece puzzle. Very handy!!! I might consider getting one, but not now, as I don't have enough time to work on them, but I want to make more time. 

Great space to put together a jigsaw puzzle

I also removed 45 pounds of paper that needed to be shredded. 

Paper for shredding

It's a somewhat unusual system they have here. Back home, when I have stuff, the staff at Staples bring the locked bin over so I can access it and put the paper in myself. Here, they were just going to take the paper and they would put it in the bin. Well, not that I don't trust these guys, but it's for shredding, which means no one should see it. They moved the bin over for me and in quick order, I shoved all the paper through he opening. 

Stuffing the shredding bin

It's not much, but it's a start, and I'm thankful for that. Mom just has some unusual ideas about things and what is and isn't valuable. There is so much more that could be sorted or tossed, but we are not allowed to touch it. Now, in all fairness, she's a great sorter and organizer, but so much doesn't need to be kept. And I suspect there are a couple of things on her Pony Express that she's set aside to give to someone, but I doubt they even want it. How can I wangle a trip to get rid of it - or pretend to get rid of it? 

I need to do some investigation and see what I can "force" to happen. Because when it comes time to clean out that apartment, I am NOT doing any of that stuff! It's garbage or recycling. Simple as that! 

A while back I posted a picture of five of us who hung out in high school. Two of the five have passed and I have vowed to get in touch with the other two. So I popped over to visit with Marilyn yesterday. 

Me and Marilyn

Here are the five of us at high school graduation. I'm on the left and Marily is in the middle. Cheryl, on the extreme right, and Bernice, beside her, have passed. It's so sad as they were young. Yes - I consider myself young. 

High school graduation picture

I'm in the wrong business, as Marilyn, who, after 25 years of working with young offenders, retired 13 years ago, is now enjoying life. What's wrong with me? NO worries -- I'm cutting back. 

Anyway, she and her husband are having a grand time gardening and have wonderful, extensive gardens on their property, as well as those of their neighbors. The gardens are beautiful and we were able to enjoy a pod of fresh peas. It's been a long time since I've had peas fresh from the pod right off the plant. 

Fresh peas in the pod

This is her little free library, which is very cute! 

Free library

On the way home, this was a shot of the sky! So many incredible formations, and we just don't get to see the sky in the same way in the city. The temperature is excellent, and I have no qualms if it rains. 

Stormy skies

Oh - I should mention that I didn't stay long in the cemetery the evening before because of the mosquitoes. Good grief -- they were even worse when I went in the morning, and when I got into the car, there was a cloud of mosquitoes that accompanied me! 

Did I mention that I LOVE my new office backpack? It's the first time using it, and it's fabulous. It has plenty of pockets, sits well on my back, and is very comfortable, even when heavily laden with an iPad and a computer. The only negative thing is it wants to sit right on my cell phone in my back pocket, which isn't comfortable, so I'll have to move the phone to my little waist pouch. 

My new office backpack

If I were buying a backpack for s school child, I'd be looking at buying one with a lot of structure like this one. It doesn't sag and it's comfortable even with a lot of weight. Some of the kids I see must be exhausted hauling all their crap around. 

I know I've had this discussion with so many people, and NO ONE listens to me. But when I travel, especially out of the country, I put my meagre travel documents into the waist pouch, which can easily sit under my shirt. I barely remember it's there. You don't need much - a passport, a couple of cards, a bit of cash, and that's it. It's 100% hands-free. I use it for walks at home - I have several waist pouches. I just don't see why people insist on carrying a purse! I don't care how safe the darn thing is with cut-resistant straps - it's just a hassle to have the damn thing. But that's coming from someone who never carries a purse. 

Well, I'm off to get the day started and off to visit with another aunt! And perhaps to get more of that edge done. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!